In many areas of the country, wintertime snow removal poses an arduous chore and for persons of advanced or even middle age and for those having acute back problems, the bending and lifting stresses inherent in shoveling can be hazardous to their health.
If one does not own a motorized snow plow or snow blower, the task of snow removal is invariably accomplished by using a conventional snow shovel. In manually shoveling snow from a walk or driveway, a great deal of bending, lifting and tossing is required and these actions put a heavy strain on the lower back. After each major snow storm, many snow shovelers are the victims of severe back strain and, in many cases, persons are stricken with heart attacks resulting in hospitalization and sometimes death.
The major cause of these heart attacks and back injuries is the repetitious lifting of snow loads associated with conventional snow shoveling techniques. There have, of course, been attempts in the past to overcome these problems. For example, the patent to Pratt U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,596, discloses a snow shovel with a pivotable frame whereby the snow may be tossed by lever action of the shovel. In this patent, the pivoting frame member is complicated and most awkward to use since it is always disposed so as to be dragged along the ground and is thus a major encumbrance to the use of the shovel.
Canadian Pat. No. 956,600 also shows a snow flipper apparatus which discloses an even more complex arrangement with a snow scoop which itself is pivotable relative to the handle of the apparatus. None of the prior art appears to show a simple but effective apparatus for manual snow removal.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved snow removal implement of simple construction which is economical to manufacture while being practical, easy and highly effective to use with all types of snow.